At the "Escambray" Dairy Products Company, in Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos Province, Cuba; Fair value and a great boost are given to activities related to Industrial and Intellectual Property, especially due to the importance of protecting the results obtained in the creative work of hundreds of people.
Summary
“Industrial property is a tool to increase the quality of innovation achievements and enable more effective commercialization of them”
The Company is increasingly perceived as a “social being”, who must contribute to common development; For this reason, public opinion is no longer impervious to everything that affects companies and their institutions, and these, which had always been characterized by great opacity, now acquire a new obligation to society:
Communicate with her, transmit her values, her identity.
Development =
I.- strategy followed by the dairy company "Escambray" for the commercialization of the product covered by the trademark "La Guajirita"
1.1.- Industrial and intellectual property in the dairy products company «ESCAMBRAY»
Industrial and Intellectual Property in this entity has been an aspect conceived and treated as an important guideline for business management.
There are concepts and achievements that have allowed it to differentiate itself from the rest of the entities of the Milky Union and in general of the Agency system.
It is worth highlighting aspects that constitute achievements of this type of PROPERTY and that are:
* Protection, attention and stimulation to the creative activity of Innovators and Rationalizers
* Business responsiveness to proposals
* Definition of a trademark policy in the entity
* Protection of industrial and intellectual property modalities that distinguish and identify the entity, such as:
a) Slogan or Commercial Slogan
b) Trade name
c) Trademarks
1.2.- Trademark policy.
The Trademark Policy, defined with the vision and conception of »STRATEGY», has allowed the entity to adapt and insert itself into the commercial and business environment in an easy, harmonious way and with a legal, economic and commercial vision of the matter.
It conforms to the organization's MISSION, to fulfill the fundamental objective of this concept and using all the values that the Brand as a category offers. This modality has allowed the company to constitute the Vanguard of the territorial environment, and of the organization system to which it belongs.
BRANDS are conceived as:
1. An Intangible Assets Assets, which conforms to the prohibitions and guidelines that appear well defined by the Cuban Office of Industrial Property. The Dairy Products Company «ESCAMBRAY» can go to the International and National Market protected, without economic or legal risks that damage its patrimony and therefore any type of negotiation of which it could be part.
2.- Work to ensure that each product that is developed begins to be marketed under duly registered brands in a timely manner.
3.- Avoid printing labels, packaging and promoting Unregistered Trademarks.
4.- Prohibit the commercialization of products under Unregistered Trademarks.
After having completed each of the stages that the legislation itself establishes (Search, Feasibility Study, Application, Records, Renewal) this aspect constitutes a meritorious result of the work that has been carried out, in obedience to the law, of economic vision - Futuristic commercial, in order to insert ourselves into an increasingly demanding Market with safe and stable steps and to which we are obliged to adjust in favor of an economic improvement of the country, be it by National Provisions, as well as by Agreements, Treaties and Regulations Internationals that govern the activity.
1.3.- Regulation of the internal system of industrial and intellectual property in the dairy products company «ESCAMBRAY».
The System that we have designed to achieve our purpose of protecting what we define as industrial and intellectual property, has been shaped according to what we have designed so far by:
* The Resolution through which the tasks of the so-called WORKING GROUP in the company are created, structured and defined, for everything related to this type of property.
All this previous work must be REGULATED, so that each of the parties in the system knows the scope of its responsibility, its obligations, the functions and rights it assumes with respect to this system, for the fulfillment of its essential objective..
This REGULATION sets out in the content of its letter, the way in which all those involved in this process will participate, adapting to current requirements and general regulations established by the Legislation in force in the matter, fully adjusting to the needs and characteristics of our economy, as it contributes to the development and stimulation of creative activity, which plays a leading role for the economic and scientific - technical progress of our entity and therefore of the country.
1.4.- Registration of the commercial emblem.
The Registry of a new modality, which is the "COMMERCIAL EMBLEM", has been approved at the OCPI; relative, of course, to the design of what constitutes the COMMERCIAL NAME. In our case, the COMMERCIAL NAME, which is «ESCAMBRAY», has been duly registered and protected, which has been conceived as a strategy of the trademark policy of our entity, and which is made to coincide with the BRAND that protects those products of a Superior Quality in the range of those produced, those that especially differ from the rest for having Optimal Quality.
1.5.- Guidelines for trademark activity in the dairy products company «ESCAMBRAY»:
a) Avoid the unnecessary proliferation of Trademarks, taking into account the existence of a Main Brand, which, identified with the Commercial Name of the entity, covers the products of a Superior Quality, which give prestige to the Brand they own and the existence of other Brands for those who require to be identified and distinguished, but whose Quality is inferior to those previously expressed.
b) Work to ensure that each product that is developed begins to be marketed under duly registered trademarks.
c) Avoid making labels, packaging, and / or promoting Unregistered Trademarks
d) Guarantee that the corresponding Use License Agreements are signed with those entities that use our Marks and / or Labels, as well as with those that the entity intends to use.
e) Prohibit the commercialization of products under Unregistered Trademarks.
f) Maintain systematic control of the application of this policy and demand compliance.
g) Avoid the unnecessary proliferation of Trademarks, taking into consideration the existence of a Main Brand that, identified with the Commercial Name of the entity, covers the products of a Superior Quality, that give prestige to the Brand they own and the existence of other Brands for those who require to be identified and distinguished, but whose Quality is inferior to those previously expressed.
h) Work to ensure that each product that is developed begins to be marketed under duly registered trademarks.
i) Avoid making labels, packaging, and / or promoting Unregistered Trademarks
j) Guarantee that the corresponding Use License Agreements are signed with those entities that use our Marks and / or Labels, as well as with those that the entity intends to use.
k) Prohibit the commercialization of products under Unregistered Trademarks.
l) Maintain systematic control of the application of this policy and demand compliance.
1.6.- THEMES TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITH A VIEW TO THE STABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THIS POLICY:
a) Keep the Registered Trademarks owned by the entity updated
b) Study and definition of the Marks that the entity will use to protect its productions, following the policy defined for this purpose
c) Rigorously abide by the procedure established to request the Registration of any of the modalities of Industrial and Intellectual Property
d) Carry out analysis of the Brands that require product expansion to cover all of those produced by the entity
e) Processing of the corresponding Use Licenses when appropriate
f) The Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control in the entity will be obliged to reject any production that does not comply with the current Trademark Regulations.
1.7.- Specificities of the trademark policy strategy in the dairy products company “ESCAMBRAY”.
1. Once the need to process or negotiate any of the Industrial and Intellectual Property modalities has been established, the Working Group will correctly prepare and substantiate the proposal, which will be brought to the attention of the DAIRY UNION Working Group.
2. This proposal must be duly accredited with the following documents:
q The minutes containing the approval of the proposal by the Board of Directors and / or Working Group
q The positive response to the SEARCH, previously requested from the OCPI by the Appointed Representative
q The Designs and Images of said proposals
q Request for approval with the corresponding written justification for the proposal
q Results of the feasibility studies if they had been carried out
3. Once the file has been established, it will be handed over to the Chair of the UNILAC Working Group for approval, in accordance with the Brand strategy and policy defined for the Agency
4. The meetings arranged by the entity's Working Group will be attended by all of its permanent members and as eventual members, the representatives who are appointed taking into account their relationship and participation with the proposal being evaluated.
5. The proposals presented to the entity's Working Group will be analyzed by it, making it known in ACTA, and being approved or not. In case of approval, these will be sent, before the 5 (Five) business days following their approval, to the UNILAC Working Group, for evaluation and approval.
6. In the cases in which the proposal (s) has been approved by the corresponding level of the Organism System, the Named Representative of the entity before the OCPI, will present before the corresponding Application for Registration, within a term of 15 working days, fulfilling the established legal procedures and paying the corresponding fee. He then proceeds to request the Certificate that proves his ownership, abiding by the Rules established in this regard.
7. The Appointed Representative of the entity before the OCPI will report on its management before the UNILAC Working Group, which will inform the MINAL Working Group, in order to establish the respective controls.
II.- Strategy that is followed for the introduction of the products covered by the trademark “LA GUAJIRITA” and its positioning in the market (National Currency and Currency Capture).
The importance, concept and objective of the TRADEMARK have evolved over time and the development of business relationships. In the 1950s, Corporate Identity began to develop, which is nothing more than graphically identifying an organization. Already in the late 1980s, work began on the Global Image, which includes Corporate Identity and also covers all aspects related to the life and environment of said organization. The TRADEMARK is the fundamental pillar for both stages.
Within the Science of Law, TRADEMARKS are included in the legal institutions of INTELLECTUAL LAW, which in turn is part of Industrial Property Law, but the adequate solution of many generalized problems for the selection, use, registration, renewal and transfer of trademarks, require knowledge and application of legal norms from different branches of law.
In CUBA, TRADEMARKS emerged around the third decade of the 19th century and the first regulations were established in the colonial stage.
2.1.- Theoretical foundations
Taking into account that we conceive INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING as the combination of elements that allow management to position itself competitively in the sector in which it operates, this exercise requires answering the following questions:
* WHERE is my MISSION?
* WHAT is the most favorable position within my possibilities? (Considering that resources are limited)
* HOW can I reach that position?
To obtain answers to these questions, a basic line of action is represented. Schematically, the phases for defining the strategy to follow are those included in the following graph:
Phases for defining the strategy
Analysis Of The Environment / Internal Analysis
Where?
Selection of alternatives
Which one?
Strategy formulation and development
How?
Implementation plan
The fundamental objective of this conception was to emphasize possible alternatives or basic strategic movements to reach the desired position, reflecting on those policies that allow these movements.
The path that a product follows until reaching the final customer or consumer is long and complicated. MARKETING specialists use different strategies for generating ideas, creating BRANDS, distributing products and promoting. All with one goal: to be better in the competition.
2.2.- Development and materialization
TRADEMARKS must be considered to represent an important business asset, as it is a negotiable and transferable title by any form of those admitted in law and one of the fundamental means to guarantee the market of both products and services in the modern world.
The underestimation of the role of TRADEMARKS and other distinctive signs by state organizations must also be valued. This can cause damage to the economy of each of these and, consequently, to the national economy due to losses of the exclusive rights that have been acquired and of the financial resources that have been invested to consolidate these commercial signs in the market. The tacit resignation to the consumer sector that these signs can assure our products must also be taken into account, with the consequent detriment that this implies for the foreign trade of our country.
For all this, in the materialization of the STRATEGY OF THE TRADEMARK POLICY IN THE DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY "ESCAMBRAY" it was convenient to work to guarantee an adequate design, selection and administration of the brands, as well as the rest of the distinctive signs, under the following precepts:
I. Establish in the DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY "ESCAMBRAY" an adequate policy in the design and selection process of BRANDS, basing it on the different legal requirements, trends and practical experiences in this modality, namely:
a) In the process of selecting the BRANDS, it was considered that they were short, easy to pronounce and suggestive, that they were not within the legal prohibitions established in the existing legislation and in general sense of the international information with which bill.
b) Trends in relation to design, color, typeface, packaging and packaging; characteristics of the consumer for whom it is intended, as well as its characteristics.
c) The quality of the products that will be distinguished with the Brand and their characteristics.
d) Carry out the corresponding search that allows us to supply the necessary information for a correct and safe selection of brands.
e) Appoint a representative of the entity before the CUBAN INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY OFFICE (OCPI) to guarantee the correct flow of the procedure.
In order to put all these principles into practice, we made a visit to the OCPI as the governing body of this matter, with the most absolute mastery, knowledge and degree of updating in this matter.
In the consultation made with specialists, in which we submitted the situation of our company to their criteria and diagnosis, we found that:
ü Producers must mark their products in an original way, without representing copies of others that already exist and at the same time, cannot be copied by intruders.
ü The REGISTRATION and use of "ESCAMBRAY" as COMMERCIAL NAME, which favors the CORPORATE IMAGE of the organization itself, is considered appropriate and strategic.
ü The prohibition of the use of names already registered as TRADEMARKS or DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGINS in favor of other countries, which was already defined in a document issued by the old ONIITEM to the Management of our company on 09.07.1984, where the precepts are established legal that protect this prohibition.
ü The modern conception of the label, taking into account the current norms that regulate this matter, allow information to be given to the client regarding everything related to the product to be purchased. All of this shows that the use of photography offers the client subliminal information on the characteristics of the product and all those issues that are visually permissible in photography. The way in which costs are increased with the use of this possibility is also valued.
ü It must appear on the ESCAMBRAY label as COMMERCIAL NAME once it has been registered.
ü The possibility of creating a BRAND for products that do not meet all the quality indices should be considered, which favors ESCAMBRAY as this image does not deteriorate and allows a greater replay with those products that are not of optimum quality.
* In making the design of the COMMERCIAL EMBLEM, the following was taken into account:
a) Modern LOGO trends
b) Quantity of colors to use (cheaper reproduction cost)
c) The marked difference that exists between LOGO and ADVERTISEMENT, that although they may have similar use, is not the same
d) The purposes of the COMMERCIAL EMBLEM (business cards, letterheads, envelopes, promotion, etc.)
e) Other logos
Please note that owners are currently developing a trademark monopoly policy, especially in France, to protect their trademarks.
For this they even use the so-called Blocking Marks, which are nothing more than definitions of names very similar to the original, which prevent the use of a phonetically similar definition.
This forces producers to carry out the action of brands of their products in a creative and original way, so that the most renowned brands in the commercial world cannot be copied.
These aspects are also important in that they allow the producer to identify the products based on their PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS in the production and conservation process.
It is also taken into consideration that:
q The functions of BRANDS can be DISTINCTIVE or DIFFERENTIATING, Indicators of provenance, Indicators of Quality and Advertising.
q Our products, especially CHEESES, have their own characteristics that differentiate them from each other due to their specificities, their use, their conservation, etc.
In addition, there is legislation that protects NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY with articles that specifically define the regulations in force. This reorganization of the trademark policy in the entity must be carried out in such a way that it is legalized and adjusted to the current conditions of its insertion in the national market (especially in the foreign exchange market) and, on the other hand, that the INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY of our organization.
From the different exchanges, investigations, conversations and file searches in the old ONIITEM, current OCPI, it was clearly defined that the use of names that were already registered as BRANDS or DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGINS, that respond to the Agreement of Lisbon or other International Agreements.
With all these antecedents, the formation of NEW BRANDS for the identification of our products is obviously required, since the entity already had the ESCAMBRAY BRAND for all products. It was considered appropriate then to leave this only for those products that due to their characteristics and superior quality enjoy a prestige in the market, therefore the importance of ESCAMBRAY as COMMERCIAL BRAND should be taken care of only for qualitatively superior products, creating other BRANDS for products of different quality or of different identification.
For this reason, the possibility of registering the ESCAMBRAY as the COMMERCIAL NAME of the entity was valued, and then proposed to establish NAMES or BRANDS for the Cheese and Ice Cream, taking into account the family or related groups, or also individually for each product.
It was also imposed to carry out the registration of the COMMERCIAL Slogan that the entity would use in its efforts or its own activities, for which the entity was called to a contest where many workers participated, finally being approved the COMMERCIAL Slogan already exposed above ("THE QUALITY HAS A NAME ……. ESCAMBRAY ”).
The inoperative design of the ESCAMBRAY BRAND was also appreciated (apart from its generality for all products). The name was conceived on bars of different colors and it was already old and of little aesthetic taste. In addition, it did not adjust to the current status of the label designs used in the market and also collided with the new label designs that the entity intends to introduce at the moment.
For all this and working together with the IBEROAMERICAN CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION, in Havana City a new design is made to be used as a COMMERCIAL EMBLEM, which must be included on the labels of each product and at the same Time would be the design variation to which the TRADEMARKS for Ice Cream and Cheese would be subjected. For the design of this SIGN, the aforementioned factors were taken into account.
After this work, an investigation was carried out on aboriginal names, typical of the territory, in order to select those that due to their characteristics and etymological meanings could be TRADEMARKS for the identification of ICE CREAMS and CHEESES, creating different work groups in the entity, where possible surveys were selected through surveys.
This research for subsequent selection yielded the following results:
141 Aboriginal names broken down EN:
Place names 35 names
Zoonímos 43 names
From mythology 9 names
Fitonímos 32 names
Object 22 names
In a complementary way, an investigative search was carried out in the historical files of the OCPI, in the Class corresponding to CHEESES and ICE CREAM, finding:
426 Disused trademarks on the following products:
Cheese markings 183
Ice cream brands 41
Brands on other dairy products 202
With all this general information (Aboriginal names, ONIITEM File - OCPI, workers' proposal, etc.), a WORKING GROUP in the entity selected a series of names to use as BRANDS, which were then subjected to an INFORMATION SEARCH in the OCPI, in order to legally define its use. The following names subjected to this search were denied:
q ANACAONA: Property of the Prod. Lácteos GUANTÁNAMO Company
q BANQUET: Owned by the Cárnica HABANA Company
q GUANI: Property of the Unión Molinera Confitera
CONTINENTAL: Property of Thomas J. Lipton - USA
Logically, those BRANDS that would have a productive stability, (Economic Strategy) according to the commercial-economic analysis, and that would certainly have a production cycle, were submitted to registration, all of which avoided unnecessary expenses and processes before the OCPI.
In the case of ICE CREAM, the Fat composition of these was taken into account, which is the fundamental element that differentiates them between their similar ones, unlike Cheeses, which due to their maturation, presentation and method of use, differ between yes, being then as follows:
Mark to record fat percent
ESCAMBRAY For Ice Creams with more than 11% fat (Similar to those of the COPPELIA Brand)
GUANAROCA For Ice Creams between 7% and 11% Fat (Similar to those of the VARADERO Brand)
HANABAY For Ice Cream with less than 7% Fat
JAGUA For Glazed Ice Cream
LA GUAJIRITA For the ICE CREAM PALETICS
For the design changes, the new corporate image of the entity was used, using the new LOGO design as the central element, which should then appear on the product labels.
In everything concerning the design and changes thereto, the provisions of CN: 97-97, Containers and Packaging, PRE-PACKAGED FOOD LABELING, General Project Specifications, 1987 were taken into account.
Designs were made for the LA GUAJIRITA modality, taking into account the flavor of the product, that is, its diversity.
2.3.- Specificities in the positioning of the brand "LA GUAJIRITA"
This Brand valid until June 15, 2015, in category 30 of ICE CREAMS, identifies a product that if we had to characterize it we could qualify it as follows:
• Modern
• Young
• Timeless
• Industrial
• Dynamic
• Fresh
• Cheerful
• Natural
• Economical
• Personal
• Soft
• Light
• Striking
• Shocking
• Exclusive
This is the “LA GUAJIRITA” ICE CREAM PALETTE, a TRADEMARK that, in addition to responding to the guidelines and principles that govern the organization's brand strategy, establishes the difference that our company is the only one in the country that is located in a Municipality and not in the provincial capital, hence precisely "LA GUAJIRITA."
This product is presented with 85 ml of volume, which classifies it among the most voluminous in the country.
Made with:
• Blends that place it in the CREAM ICE CREAM category (Between 7% and 11% fat, 3.6 g of Protein, 253 Kcal / 100g)
• Raw materials such as:
a) Milk and / or vegetable fat
b) Sugars
c) Natural flavors
d) Essential oils
e) Stabilizers
f) Authorized dyes
SMOOTH and with CHOCOLATE COVER are presented, in different flavors such as:
• Vanilla
• Strawberry
• Chocolate
The ICE CREAM PALETTES are packed in pearl polypropylene bags, with a fundamentally red design, which makes them distinctive and eye-catching to the customer, and they have excellent physical-chemical, organoleptic and microbiological quality, an aspect recognized by the competent authorities. The category of RECOGNITION is recognized as RESPONSIBLE for the organization, for its contribution to the preservation of the environment and a superior quality of life.
They are guaranteed for 60 days from the date of manufacture, provided that the temperature conditions required by the current quality standards are maintained.
This product covers the NATIONAL MARKET and that of FREELY CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY.
This product was COMMERCIAL PRESENTED in:
I. Ceremony of delivery of the OCPI-2003 AWARDS, in the month of November 2003, in Havana City.
II. International Event "BRANDS 2004", sponsored by the Cuban Office of Industrial Property, in April 2004, in Havana.
III. MARKETS COVERED
This product covers the CUBA MARKET of the NATIONAL CURRENCY and that of the FREELY CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY, counting among others with the following CLIENTS:
I. CORPORACIÓN CIMEX SA:
a) Chain of Stores
b) Service Centers c) RAPID Services
d) Photo-services
II. CORPORATION OF COMMERCE AND SERVICES. CUBALSE SA:
a) CUBALSE - MERIDIANO (Chain of Stores)
b) CUBALSE - AUTOMOTRIZ ("Black Gold")
c) CUBALSE - CONTINENTAL ("Doña Nellys")
III. CHAIN OF STORES CARACOL SA
IV. CORPORACIÓN DE TURISMO Y COMERCIO INTERNACIONAL SA. CUBANACAN SA:
a) CUBANACAN Company
b) UNIVERSO Store Company
V. ARTEX SA:
a) Soderías
SAW. ISLAZUL TOURISM CHAIN:
a) Sales Points
VII. RECREATION AND TOURISM GROUP. RUMBOS SA:
a) Restaurants
b) Points of Sale
VIII. TRD-CARIBBEAN STORE CHAIN
IX. SPECIALIZED GASTRONOMY:
a) Sales Points
IX. CHAIN OFFERS:
a) Markets
IV.- EVALUATION OF HOW THE USE OF THE DISTINCTIVE SIGN "LA GUAJIRITA" HAS HELPED INCREASE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE PRODUCT ICE CREAM PALETTES
Our products are identified and differentiated in both the NATIONAL MARKET and the FOREIGN CURRENCY MARKET for their attributes, which establish a coherent relationship between RAW MATERIAL-LABOR-TECHNOLOGY-QUALITY-BRAND. This identifying quality has obviously favored their position in the MARKET, increasing their demand and consequently their choice by customers, which has allowed an increase in the organization's finances, which in turn has led to a serious REDEMPTIONING PROCESS. BUSINESS, favoring investments that result precisely in the population, such as:
* Acquisition of Machines to bag Concentrated Milk and Soy Yogurt, which favors their quality, as well as their distribution and handling, allowing distribution to all municipalities in the territory in bags
* Repair of Freezing Refrigerators in the Factory Ice Cream, which allows to store quantities higher than the existing ones and favors the behavior of quality parameters of these products (Especially the ice creams in their different modalities and destinations / USD-MN)
* Acquisition of raw materials for the production of substitute cheeses that have favored employment and the use of productive capacity
* Stability in the production process, maintaining the employment of the labor force and the satisfaction of the needs of specific clients and the population in general.
* Guarantee the economic - material infrastructure that has allowed the organization to respond to the different levels of request and expansion in the delivery of the SCHOOL SNACK, as a fundamental task of the BATTLE OF IDEAS
* The cheese packaging system in vacuum machines
* Popsicle machine (Roll 20 Model) that achieves a production of up to 50,000 units in one work shift
* Resizing Actions such as:
a) The sectionalization and general repair of the chamber of - 30 degrees centigrade, which allows to occupy the current and prospective space necessary for ice cream productions and above all ensures the stability of the temperature in that chamber, and consequently, improves the quality and production stability, as well as the load accommodation during peak hours. The rest of the area can be used for other storage purposes.
B) Reorganization of the Fca's refrigeration chambers. of Cheeses in correspondence with current productions, where resources will be concentrated for its better operation
c) Insertion of the line of analogous cheeses in a part of the line of semi-hard cheeses, but with structural independence
d) The reorganization of the filling room of the Pasteurizing Plant, in three independent locations: Soy Yogurt, Natural Yogurt; Concentrated Milk and Physical Mixes
In all this process the BRAND "LA GUAJIRITA" has played a preponderant role since it has allowed the choice of this ice cream over others of the same use and / or class, and it is precisely the name of "LA GUAJIRITA" that has differentiated it in its Market positioning, since the Client associates it with a "provincial" product in terms of origin or territory of production, but of optimum quality precisely because of its TRADEMARK and its attributes, regardless of the COMMERCIAL NAME of the entity that appears On each of the labels and / or packaging, identify these products with a very special quality sign.
Bibliography:
* Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, “TRIPS AGREEMENT” of April 15, 1994, of great importance, obliges WTO members to meet minimum protection standards.
* Microsoft Reference Library, Encarta, 2004.
* Decree Law 203 "On Trademarks and other Distinctive Signs", dated December 24, 1999. Published in Special Gazette No. 3 of May 2, 2000.
* Decree Number 209, Regulation of the Industrial Property Law, dated February 7, 1956. Published in the Special Official Gazette on February 21, 1956
* Resolution Number 63/2000 of May 24, 2000, which approves and enforces the Regulation of Decree-Law Number 203 on Trademarks and other Distinctive Signs.
